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benpulford-82589
Reviews
Anatomie d'une chute (2023)
Anatomy of a pile of ...
Didn't even get 3 minutes into this one. What the heck is going on? Utterly annoying and glistening with self absorbed prétention. Put it this way, if the 'protagonist' was innocent of some crime, I don't care. If the 'protagonist' was guilty, I don't care. In only 3 minutes, it was like one of those annoying middle-aged dinner parties with one of those really pretentious, self-absorbed, arrogant, shallow A-hole guests, wittering on about how amazing they are and how important what they do is ... and you just want to go home and get wasted on a cheap bottle of wine and never see or hear of them again. I guess this review can't contain any spoilers cos I didn't watch it ... unless the first 3 minutes was really important. Excellent, word count is up. Bye.
Spaceman (2024)
Ok but difficult in a few too many places
Thought this would be an interesting enquiry into the mind of a lone spaceman. Haven't said this for a while but the same stories have been told so many times over, it's difficult to engage with similar offerings any more. I gave this one an 8 for what appears to be a lot I do good effort from all involved. But ... it seems yet again the story telling, the story line, the script is ... in this case, not quite there. Maybe like the spaceman I imagined things whilst watching, but there appeared to be some obvious references to Tarkovski's Solaris, mixed with Aragon from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? When I see effort in film making I like to give it a chance. So I went along with the giant spider, but am annoyed with myself for not being able to work out if the Spaceman was suffering from cabin-fever and thus hallucinating, or if it was an actual giant alien spider? I quite like the idea that some alien lifeforms out there may be derivatives of lifeforms we have on Earth (though at the rate the human race is going, not sure for how long the wonderful array of lifeforms here will last!) - and it was nicely explored in this film. But another 'but' - thought the end could have been a bit quicker. Pathos seems to vary from person to person and the film makers might have wanted the spiders end to be as long as it was. However I found the duration of the demise mixed too much with the seeming unwillingness of the director to say goodbye to a key character, a lot like the last of the - Lord of the Rings - films where Peter Jackson clearly didn't want to say goodbye to his epic. From all this you could take it that this film is fairly worthy company for a number of 'greats' ... maybe. I had no problem watching it all. Biggest issue was why a woman who hitched up with an astronaut was seemingly so bitter that the astronaut had a 'day job' that ... erm meant he had to go on space missions that by nature meant he couldn't just come home at the end of a nine-to-five and help out around the house. This particular plot line would have been better served if she 'grew' to resent him not being around, thus battling her own internal problems with not facing the reality of the day-job versus home-life - mixed with the mixed emotions of being pregnant, rather than the all out 'I hate him for being an astronaut and not being here despite that being his job and I knew it from the start!' Fin.
The Vast of Night (2019)
Wow!
Wow. This is a 'PROPER' film. Don't know what else to say. Don't know why it hasn't got 10-out-of-10 across the board. If I was a production company wanting to spend money making this kind of film, I'd be throwing it at the team that made this one. Sublime, is a good word to describe it. I guess there had rove bits that didn't quite hit the mark, but the only thing I can think of is I found the 'ship' to be a little retro in its appearance. Score was sublime, acting is excellent, camera work is pure genius in places. So much to commend it. Can't help thinking there must be a follow up??? This is utterly proper film making at its absolute best.
The Book of Vision (2020)
Visionary film about a book
Enjoyed watching this film, very much. Not one of Terence Malik's best. Personally I'd suggest The New World is his best followed closely by The Tree of Life. This film is still extremely good on so many levels. I guess the reason I didn't give it 10 is because the point of the story is a little hard to understand or 'get'. This isn't always a bad thing for me, in that with what I consider a good piece of film entertainment, if I don't quite 'get it', it usually follows with a 'I need to watch it again', and a few times. What could possibly be better than sitting down to watch a film over and over and over again, years apart? I've been watching my favourite Malik's over and over - and over many years. It's fun. It's enjoyable. Very much the same for a great many other great films and great film makers. I find it curious to consider a 'line' in this film where the Charles Dance character questions the Lotte Verbeek character, during a strained dinner party, over which he questions why she spends her time studying some obscure past instead of using her talents to live and work in the now and the future. The answer of course, here, is because one cannot understand the now or have any idea of the right future without understanding the past and all the tangential discourses along similar lines. Perfect. Different people like different genres of films but criticising one genre because it's not the type you like is not at all correct! Talking of which, 'context is everything'. Worth considering with regard to everything. Otherwise an opinion is utterly pointless. Talking of which, I am amused on my IMDB ... thing ... that under the title of 'similar titles you might like' (or whatever it is), the crazy machine shows a whole load of titles that are not at all similar ... in any way, that I can discern. It would appear that for AI and/or IT algorithms, 'context is irrelevant. Oh well. "What a marvellous modern world we live in". Was this review helpful? Probably not.
Elysium (2013)
Stupid
Confused. Are we supposed to root for what appears to be the baddies or what appears to be the goodies? Because, to put it bluntly, the 'goodies' are crap! They get beaten every five seconds by the baddies. BTW the Matt D character appears to be on the 'goodie's' side?!? Oh and hey, how does the Matt D character manage to survive a six inch dagger stabbing in the we gut, just because he's wearing an 'XO suit'. Phna. It's amusing! An XO suit is worn on the outside, hence the term. Oh, Oh and the baddies manage to get away with every conflict they're involved with because the 'goodies' decide to do all their retaliation in slow-motion and make no effort to ... what's that term ? ... finish off the baddies when the opportunity arrives. Hence, like a bad smell, the baddies keep coming back and annoying everyone. I suggest in reality, one would label the 'goodies' as a bunch of morons from planet clueless.?!?. The special effects are outstanding, the story is even really quite original and entertaining as a premise but the whole thing is screwed up by the obviousness of the director's precociousness for his lovely baddies. The way the final surviving 'goody' overcomes the last surviving 'baddie' is a joke, like something a four year old might come up with. Is that the point? Summary: a very disappointing opportunity severely screwed over with idiotic storyline drama ... lovelies. I'm wondering why I'm bothering to write a review for this one.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Yes Thankyou
Wonderful film. Great fun to watch. A tale to really get absorbed by. Fabulous. Epic. Brilliant. All the very best of superlatives. Only criticism (which I've mentioned before in these reviews) - thé 'baddies' get dispatched far too easily and quickly. Given the buildup of what we see of the Harkonnen home world and how deranged and evil they all are, the 'baddies' get dispatched far too easily. Baddies need to be seen getting what they deserve, which is to suffer ... sound like a Harkonnen myself!!! Actually, I do have another criticism - given we had to wait three - four years between each of the first two Villeneuve DUNE films and that's just the first book and there are six books in the Frank Herbert series, to get through the whole lot assuming two films per book, it'll take 48 years to get through them all. I'll be long dead half way through!
Paint (2023)
Absolutely bl**dy brilliant
Wonderful. Brilliant. Uplifting. Warm. Friendly. Proper entertainment. Complete and utter perfectly sensible nonsense. Stupid. A 'cult movie' hit. It is said the film is not based on Bob Ross from Vance Refrigeration. But it clearly isn't not conversely incorrectly the case, not. When I first saw a certain painter of strange and slightly disturbing picture-perfect Christmas post-card strangeness, paintings, not always with snow, I hated the show. I first saw it as a thing during Covid-19 lockdown as a repeat from yesteryear. There was nothing else on tellie, and it was painful flicking through the channels and seeing the disturbing painter painting his disturbing perfect world paintings with their ridiculous bright green-yellow leafy foreground highlights in front of the ubiquitous mountain-range in the far wonderful, sublime background. There was nothing else on TV worth watching. Because terrestrial TV is unbelievably lazy, the series was-is repeated now, a few years later and I love it and the crazy beautiful disturbingly unreal, sad, whimsical paintings. So when I discovered there was a movie based on the master and his work, I had to watch it. It's the only film my son had to buy on a streaming service. But it's worth every penny. I laughed and laughed. We laughed and laughed and the ending is perfect. The legend lives on, just like the strange, disturbing, perfect, aseptic images the Meister created back in the 80's. This film is a wonderful tribute to a truly wonderful generous spirited good man, a gentle man. The cast and crew did a great job with this film and clearly no money. But then it was made during Covid-19 lockdown when our pointless governments managed to ruin everything, including our economies and our children's futures and spent all the money allowing a global pandemic to happen in the first place, spending all our money during it on nonsensical, pointless 'stuff' and then giving themselves a big pat on the back for allegedly sorting their own ineptitudes out. Too far? Ok. Gone off on a tangent. This film is great. It is true entertainment. Thankyou.
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
Rebel Moon
Jack, Jack, Jack, Jackedy Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack. This is bugs life in space, right? - followed swiftly by the stir-wars canteena and lord of the rings pubs, followed swiftly by Harry Potter and the prisoner of axe-key-bun, followed by a much better version of avatar riding a hippogriffe thingmyjig (wow, spellcheck actually let me write thingmyjig!). I'm halfway through and having a lot of fun watching this. But am a little disappointed there's no 300 blood and guts all over the place splattering. But I guess the millennials in charge of certification are... I love the way there's slow-mo in a whole bunch of random bits like falling on a stool and firing a gun and missing the target. I'm just envious you all get to have such fun making all these things. It is a load of fun.
All Is True (2018)
A little flower of a film. A snowdrop on a sunny bank blown in a February chill wind ...
I first saw this film several years ago and am saddened to say I did not enjoy it very much. At that time I couldn't understand how someone as supremely gifted with the craft of writing and writing for the entertainment of all others, could have had such a verbally 'dull' home life. I guess I imagined such a person would spend hours regaling his family with all manner of stories and quotes from his many plays, sonnets and poems. I watched it again several years later, now to be exact and was deeply moved by my second viewing. I guess I'd gotten past the obvious. Time had passed. I am older. A lot has happened in between in the world of our human affairs and I am more melancholic. Thus the pathos of this film, it's script and the quiet acting, has moved my opinions.
The UFO Chronicles: A History of Mysterious Sightings (2023)
AI ... disappointing and annoyingly atonal
When I was a teenager at school we had a history teacher who stood in front of the class in every lesson and just wrote dates and event titles from history, over and over and over, day in, day out, for five years. Today, almost forty years later, I still consider the delivery of this particular teacher as the most boring, uninspiring, monotonous and pointless attempt at imparting knowledge I have ever had to put up with. Sorry, but watching this show and watching that scanned and comprehensively AI'd presenter (smiling strangely at really inappropriate moments) provided me with almost exactly the same experience. I really enjoy 'alien' shows and films, but this show is in danger of almost single-handedly spoiling the genre for me ... that and any number of B-movies from yesterday-year. The AI'd presenter was clearly 'faked' in that the mouth movements seemed obviously disjointed from the rest of the face and he constantly looked like he was going to be seriously ill at the end of every sentence! My current opinion of the threat from AI to the entertainment industry, if this show is typical of what to expect, is that it is not a threat!!! If the industry insists on going down this route though, then I suggest the industry will rush headlong into its own demise. Hara-kiri is what the Japanese samurai call the process. Having said all that the 'distorted' artwork was very enjoyable ... which is not what all the artists out there would want to hear.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Napoleon Extremely Difficult To Watch
I cannot watch this fill-um. It is snot good. Funny, I just read a 1-out-of-10 review and they said they turned over after 15 minutes. It took me 5. I could not stand it. It was very difficult to watch! I couldn't decipher what I was supposed to be connecting to. The problem started with the plates of food with the cast and crew names on. Whilst this was novel and fun ... I could not stand it! For a moment I imagined I was 'Michael Scott' in the meeting room, giving Toby his 'exit interview'! (Hundred words to go) ... wow dots count! !!! And punctuation ... ahh apparently not, just tried to submit and it wouldn't let me!
Joy (2015)
A great 'movie' and a Joy to watch
My family loves this film. I love it. It's a go-to when there's nothing on TV or on 'streamers'. All that is irrelevant. It's a great entertaining film. Any film about a mop that is so much fun to watch, is bordering on genius. It IS a film about a mop. But ... the cast and crew elevated the story of a mop to the heights that great films are always able to do. It IS entertainment. You can see the 'craft' in it. It's palpable. The story is insightful. The way it nonchalantly picks up on human stupidity and ineptness is highly amusing. The way the main characters are written and acted, to rise above the rubbish and win-out supreme, is insightful and a joy to behold. This is great acting on top of a fabulous production. Strangely the film, it's story, the production, is very much like the story of 'the mop'. You take something as unassuming and - on the surface - utterly boring to behold - and turn it into such a great 'number one' is the sign, in my humble opinion, of a truly great film making team.
Raised by Wolves (2020)
Mixed feelings but not missed
Weird. Novel to a degree. Compelling at times. Boring at others. A strange mix. Thought it was ok up until series 2 episode 'feeding', which in itself was watchable, right up until the point the sea creature 'mother' was feeding the baby it stole from the mother that didn't want the baby and for those that saw the series, you know what happens next. This scene alone was the one that turned me from being ok with watching the series, to absolutely hating it. As a result I couldn't care less about the final episode, the one just before the whole thing was cut. What I hated was the story seemed overall to be about 'what we take with us', when we have an opportunity to start all over again. This point being that it would appear the human race takes death, destruction, a total apathy and 'couldn't care less' about all other life, especially the sea creature mother that clearly loved 'that which the other mother cared nothing for'. What I decided I hated, quite simply - is that being constantly shown everything that reasonable, moral, righteous human beings absolutely 'hate' about what most of the human race gets up to, day-to-day, which is for the most part abhorrent ... isn't really entertaining. If that was the point of most of the episode storylines, then I suggest it's puerile at best and rather shallow. Anyone can 'look in a mirror', to see truth. If this wasn't the point of most episodes, then the alternative would appear to me, to be storylines then product of deranged minds! Sorry. Ok, maybe it's because it's a 'horror' genre, as well as sci-fi? But the mor of these current spate of such shows I watch, the more I suggest there is a distinction between horror and pure evil. I was reminded too much of the actions of the sick minds we have to put up with that seem to take pleasure from killing everything that isn't human. The presumption and arrogance of it all is in itself deranged. I think more and more these days the human race is the very opposite of the 'paragon of all animals' and are instead a form of life that lies at the very bottom of the fetid barrel of all things. Maybe if the show wasn't cut it would all have made sense in the end, but getting through long stuff like these shows relies a huge amount on 'caring' or 'investing' in the characters. For me, the moment I care nothing for any of the characters, is the moment the show fails. Maybe that's why it was cut? Did I want to give it a 7, or should I have given it less? The effort and hard work from the art and production departments, the cinematography etc., was however excellent. So it comes down to the writing ...
High Fidelity (2000)
Maybe low-fidelity might have been a better title?
Took me twenty three years to get round to seeing this one. I'd heard a great deal of hype about it for years and years and years ... years ... and years. I suspect not getting round to seeing a hyped up film for years and years and years, is by the time you get round to seeing it, it's most probably become ... dated. Which is a nice way of saying it was not as good (in my humble opinion) as the hype! As far as I could tell the main character is a bit of a self absorbed A-hole? Was he also supposed to come across as a misogynist? I guess if you like records (vinyl) then you'd probably love this film forever. The bit I didn't get is the connection with the main character so as 'to care'. I guess I didn't care. The 'effing and blinding' was annoying. And I couldn't stand the preachy relationships between the 'friends' and 'family' members. I also hated the 'lighting-up' every five seconds. So pretentious. Maybe the film was supposed to be filled with pretentious characters? I think self obsessed and narcissistic sums up most of the characters. I didn't get the 'internal angst' of the main character. For me the thing I got the most from the film, was it was like watching a film about all the above ... but like browsing through a shop, not really sure what you after, which was not particularly ... interesting ... captivating? After twenty three years, it was mildly amusing. As the guy said, those guys were "snobs" and yeah the main character is an A-hole?
The Road (2009)
True
Watching this film was painful. But that's it people, the whole point, surely-this is the future of the human race! Something to look forward to? The point is, for anyone that didn't get along with this film, to make damn sure it doesn't turn out this way for the human race. We really have to make actual effort. This film is clever, because it is a no holes bared version of the future if we make no effort and just let things slide. Annihilation by default. This is what lethargy and intransigence leads to. The story is literally about a future of 'hopeless'. In the face of this future hopelessness, out of the smog also comes, by default, again - all sorts of human nonsense. Was it well made? Yes. Was the acting good? Yes. Was the production, art Dept, costuming, sets, etc, etc, good? Yes. It was a horrible horrible tale. I guess for me one thing that was rather annoying was the 'coming across a band of evil doers'. I literally think in such a future, even that sort of an 'organisation of thugs', represents a strain in credulity. Should you watch it? I guess it depends on whether anyone liked the idea of looking into a mirror to a very sad but entirely plausible future. God I'm being miserable!
Zoo (2015)
Utterly irresponsible
This show is utterly irresponsible. The animal kingdom is being slaughtered and tortured by US ... and the TV producers here thought it would be a good idea to show further animal persecution ... and for what? Oh yes - for entertainment. First it was sharks and look at the persecution of that species since. Now it's everything else. Disgraceful. I've got another three hundred words or so to add to make up the count. I could fill this review with expletives but of course I can't. So rubbish show, rubbish everything about it. Why would anyone that cared sign up to any of this? Perhaps because they don't care either. Good luck explaining to your children and grandchildren why there are no wild animals left ... and don't forget ... it all happened in your lifetime.
The Flash (2023)
Utterly brilliant
Don't care what anyone says to the contrary, this film is utterly brilliant. In addition, the DC universe has absolutely 'nailed' the idea of delving into alternate universes or realities, perfectly - unlike certain others we could name, who've got it completely wrong! DC is the best. This film is/was well worth the wait, though not wholly for the right reasons I understand. The plot started out in the usual sort of way, but quickly went absolutely in the perfect direction, to make sense - literally - of every other DC character movie, ever! Not just in the past but also into the future. That alone, is utter genius. The team that put this film together - the whole cast and crew - is absolutely the best. Thank you so much for a brilliant, brilliant movie and an absolutely perfect concept for the whole DC universe.
Air (2023)
It's about a shoe
This is a pretty good film. Had no idea about anything to do with it. Skipped through the TV subscription looking for something to watch on a Saturday night with my family. Saw this listed, saw the cast, thought it might be worth a look. And yeah, it was pretty good. Only down side is it's about a shoe! I guess it's one of those stories that reflects quite well, the product of a hundred thousand years of human evolution - and as a consequence is a pretty accurate reflection of the modern human story! What was affirming was the back story related to Meister Nike. I was reminded of a time, not that long ago, when anyone could start a business that was essentially a completely new 'thing' making and selling something 'new'. A time before smart phones (aka stupid phones on my planet), PCs, computer games (apart from arcades), Wi-Fi, internut, smart this, smart that, electric everything, even calculators. Upon reflection I was reminded how lame human life is by comparison today. Oh well. A fun film. A good story. Well acted. Well made by good people. Good soundtrack. Proper pathos.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
A proper film
Watched this over Christmas 2022 and initially gave it 9. Then watched that 'all stuff, all over the place, all at the same time, everywhere' film, post Oscars. Didn't get the accolade of that one. I rewatched this brilliant, brilliant piece of entertainment recently (2023) with my family again and upped my rating to 10. Reason? It's just absolutely brilliant. A proper film and a proper piece of entertainment. My gripe is that TopGun Maverick is way, way, way, way, way better than pretty much every other film that won Oscars this year and it received only one award from this 'genre' of awards. Is there a problem out there with film critics and judges not getting what makes a great movie anymore? I dunno. Who cares. TopGun Maverick is so great. I enjoyed every moment of it from start to finish. And ... I've never had a tear in my eye for so long watching pretty much any other film. The actor performances are legendary with deeply heart-felt performances. It is filled with the right kind of pathos. Being able to tie itself back to the first TopGun so we'll and to palpably feel the passing of actual time as well as the films story timeline, is absolute genius. Genius in film making and story telling. Clearly a perfect film making team. It is filled with all the right kind of story, acting, action, sets, props, effects, production, sound, music, costuming and cinematography. Utterly brilliant. Thank you so much to the whole crew and team for making and creating such a great, great film.
Vesper (2022)
Utterly brilliant. What films should be!
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I could go on writing brilliant until the required minimum word character count is up. This is the best film I've seen for ... bloody years! Novel idea, original story, creative beyond description. Production was excellent. Direction was perfect. Acting was perfect and I forgive the youthfulness of some of it because it was so immersive (I think is the word). It takes a lot to get me to want to watch a film these days, to the end. Like with a good book, I didn't want to stop watching but had to as it was a late night, end of a hard day type viewing choice for me. From start to finish I was reminded of the 'greats' of European film making! The art Dept work would have been utterly wonderful. Props and set dressing were brilliant. Costuming was some of the most original work I've seen in a long time too (though the 'bad-guy-soldier' things were a bit ... corny. What really does it for me in any film is wether the viewing experience and the watching of the thing, is dreamlike; the sort of stuff you see in your dreams. I know that sounds a bit ... well you decide, but to me it means what I'm seeing is original and unfettered by cliche and formula. As for value for money as a production, I would have been extra tic if I'd have invested in this one. Thing is I see it didn't seem to do well in box office or in terms of awards, but I'd have given it every Award going! What an excellent few hours of my life spent watching an excellent film and story. A good, proper story, perfectly told. Utterly brilliant. I can't stop with the superlatives ...
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
'A headline for my review' ... first thing I'd do is get away from everyone else!?! If this is what it'd be like!!!
Original script-ish. Well acted. Not a surprise given the cast. Nice surprises in the cast. But, didn't quite hit the mark. For me the asteroid missed its target by a comfortable margin. Can't help thinking it was a vehicle for the film makers love of vinyl and 70's music. Which isn't a bad thing necessarily and this offers an unusual way of reviewing this film, in the context of most 'modern' films. It was 'comfortably' predictable. So I did find a lot about it being a chore to sit through. I think sometimes the ease of people's lives comes through in the stories they write. And that's not always interesting entertainment. It's ok ... sometimes. But its not great. Alas, from most of what I see when I get this 'sense' it's actually quite difficult to watch or rather - to stay engaged with these sorts of stories or more specifically the development of the characters. As for my point about music ... the thing about a lot of modern films is they're lacking in the musicality and sheer originality of music from the 70's. That is, the sheer originality of films from the 70's too. The 70's, as far as I can recall growing up in them, was an era of great music. Every new song was a new song. Every new weekly 'chart' was a new chart. It was ... fun. BUT ... thing about modern pop music is, it's ... tiresome, predictable, same-eee and not always 'fun' or interesting to listen too. It's not ... new. It's all been done before. Felt similar things about this movie. There it is. It's a strange thing in the modern world, where people imagine the unimaginable relationship, or friendship, is only to be found in the midst of an impending doom. I guess that was the original bit? It was ... okay.
The Wonder (2022)
I wonder at the wonder and wonder if I gave it too high a number
I dunno. It was nicely made and an original story-ish. But was it a supernatural film? Was it horror? Was it a tale of woe? A drama? Was it a modern interrogation of an old evil? No. That's not even a genre. But I could't tell absolutely what it was really. Initially I thought it was one of those wonderful oldy-worldy films like they made well in the 60's or occasionally in the 70's. It was doing OK until about the last 30 minutes, when the whole plot resolution was given away in the dialogue before it even happened. I'm not clear in my mind, but it appeared to be a tale about the evils of the famines in Ireland and how none came to the aid of the people. The thing is the evils of the world are always done by ... all of us ... and always will be because fundamentally we seem to care more about 'ring-tones' than anything important. The point about the 'wonder of children' is absolutely perfect and true and ... wonderful. But why oh why was the film's resolution spelled out before it even happened? It was like reading a critique that gives away those stupid 'spoiler' thingeys before you've even seen the film. Another point well shown was how most of the human race sits around spouting at a comfortable table, talking rubbish, doing nothing, while the most wonderful of things is exploited, abandoned, then left to die a slow and painful and totally unnecessary death ... at the hands of apathy, boredom, ineptness and weird, pointless, political, religious correctness not to mention self-interest. Why are adults so screwed up and stubborn and intransigent? Ok all that said, I'm still not sure if I got the point or points of the movie? But it was an enjoyable filmic, though sad, journey into a novel story idea. The acting was excellant. The art Dept, production and costuming was excellant. The direction started out well but seemed though, to do that thing towards the end of many projects, of losing interest in the project ... and erring towards the 'want' to get on with another project. I loved the pre-start and ending - theatrical touches. Final word is why on Earth this really rather good-ish film has not received far more awards? It's a lot better than a lot of other stuff out there at the moment.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Not a good film
Oh dear. Another rubbish marvel sequel. The film doesn't work. The story doesn't work. It's all become very ... puerile. There's something really missing from these sequels, that was ever present and perfectly attuned in the 'Infinity Saga' films and stories. What the heck was it? This film doesn't hang together at all well. It's all over the place. It's like sitting through a pop song 'video', that does little other than try to be trendy. Why has everything everywhere gone up itself? Do people not care about anything anymore? I'm so disappointed as I write this review. Story, story, story. That's what's missing. Point, point, point. That's what's missing. All these films are like computer-games too. If you fail (that is get wiped-out by the baddies), you can just start again at whatever pointless level you got wasted on. There are no consequences anymore ... to anything. You can do what you like, as long as it's no good. Funny thing, when I was a little ten year old, Black Panther was my favourite marvel comic. An age before even battery operated calculators. Maybe I'm too old to get all this ... stuff ... anymore? But a good film, a good story ... is timeless. How many people will enjoy watching any of these films in years or decades to come?
The Mule (2018)
Can somebody explain the message of this film?
I don't get it. Is this a film that ok's abandoning all morality? I've heard from old relatives (as a double-sided, cynical joke), that old people are better off becoming criminals in their old age because they're looked after better in prison than in old peoples homes. But really. Is this story ok morally? You're country or rather, you're country's 'system', it's culture - treats you badly in you're your of need, after all you've given it and given up for it, so you're ok with choosing to become a heinous criminal to make ends meet or to get you're 'own back'? Isn't it more morally correct to abandon you're country and you're culture and become a hermit instead? Weird story. Weird point. Weird message. Weird morality tale. I don't get it. What was the point? Anybody?!? My suggestion is - don't bother. Life's too short and too many people are too willingly dependant on society, norms and standardised expectations. Inniti nemo nisi te ipsum.
Immortals (2011)
a great movie
Admittedly it would appear at first viewing to be a sort of '300' derivative, but it's a great film and a good story. I think the only poor bit or bits was how 'lame' the protagonist hero was with his god-given magical bow-and-arrow. Or to be more precise, why he didn't use it more and why he lost it so easily to the film's main antagonist - a mere mortal? Albeit a mere mortal with a massive chip on his enormous shoulders. But then, gear we have the ancient world meeting and conflicting with the newly forming 'modern' world. The actors were actually all great, I thought. The CGI, though obvious was well used, rather than blatant. The pace of the film was masterful, given that if the film makers had been lesser mortals and given the films length - the whole thing could have ended up very easily as a complete mess. The end few seconds were absolutely compelling. Genius. And everything in between was brilliant. What a proper 'episodic' film should be.